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Alred City
Alred City (/'All-red city/) is the capital city of Akarv in New Voldrania, and also its largest, most populous, and the first founded after the Fall of Voldrania. It is named in honor of Akarv's capital region in Voldrania, "Alred". While still under construction, primarily on the outskirts, Alred City has not only earned a reputation as one of the largest cities ever built by the Voldranians, it is also one of the biggest cities in the entirety of New Voldrania. The city also has a reputation as being fairly "stuck up" to the rest of the world, due to its founders and governments efforts to paint the city as a utopia representative of Akarv as a whole, in an effort to "earn their place" in the region. As such, crime and litter in the city are heavily moderated, much moreso than anywhere else in the nation, in order to "maintain appearances". History In the aftermath of the Fall of Voldrania, the displaced Akarvians found themselves in New Voldrania unsure of where to settle. They came from the west, sailing south of Zaescaes and through the islands that would become Scavoran. The advance scouts initially made plans to settle in the forests of what would become Jados, but ultimately decided to sail further south and found themselves in a large, open plains. While light on natural resources such as wood, the land was excellent for farming and rapid expansion, and so it was officially chosen to be where Akarv would rebuild. The peninsula which Akarv landed on would become known as the "Arrival Peninsula", though the bulk to the population would actually make landfall slightly further east, across the Alred Bay. While many chose to explore deeper inland, and across the river to settle in the desert, most of the survivors stayed in the plains, where the government had set up a temporary "capital" from which they could organize the reconstruction efforts. The town that sprung up around this capital become known as "Alred City", and it only exploded outwards from that original settlement. After order had been established, a national capital was constructed a ways south of the initial settlement so that the elected officials could have a more permanent place to work out of. Much of the original settlement was torn down as the city expanded, and replaced with more permanent structures. The "efficiency" at which Akarv has built means that there are no signs of Akarv's original settlement left. Eventually, though, after an architectural guild was founded in the city, plans were made to "revamp" much of the city and update it architecturally to be more stable and visually appealing, largely in an attempt to attract non-Voldranian tourism to the city. The Capital building was torn down, to be replaced by The Citadel, and a brand new capital building was constructed at the center of the regions eastern peninsula. After the city was visually updated, efforts were made to dramatically expand the city both to the south and to the west, encompassing the "Arrival Peninsula", which had since become an isolated port district. On the far west coast of the Alred the Museum of Voldranian History was constructed, furthering the cities devotion to both remembering Voldrania, and bolstering tourism. Very quickly the city earned as a reputation for "trying too hard", or generally being stuck up. The city was hit hard during the Nether War from 74 to 76 AE, seeing as how it was one of the biggest targets in New Voldrania. About half way through the war a more concentrated assault on Alred City was made when the Lirun fugitive Lao, her hired Mercenary, and ally Nether Spirit Choker, stormed and took hostage the cities major hospital. Members of Akarv's national special agents team, SANA, were able to diffuse the situation, but it still marked the cities darkest moment up until that point. At least until about fifteen years later, in 94 AE, when the Monitor Invasion occurred and caused chaos to unfold across the entirety of New Voldrania. Alred City was one of the first to succumb when the Monitor's forces arrived, and it felt one of the strongest occupations of the entire three week ordeal. A team of vigilantes, diplomats, and leaders made their way from Krolesk to Alred City in order to liberate a congregation of world diplomats and politicians, who had been in session at The Citadel when the invasion began. After successfully liberating these leaders, who included former Akarvian president Adam Pyro, The Citadel's central tower was struck by a blast from the Monitor's Siphon weapon, which failed to topple it but left it structurally unsound. Once the Monitor Invasion finally ended, Alred City was forced to pick up the pieces. The Citadel had become a beacon not only for the city's landscape, but for its ego as well. The destruction of the tower was seen by many as the worst tragedy to strike Akarv since the Fall of Voldrania, even moreso than the Nether War. Repairs to The Citadel were slow due to then president Victoria Khan's focus on aiding other nations recover from the chaos, rather than focusing on the domestic recovery. Geography The geography is fairly simple: it's flat. The city was strategically built on what would become known as the Plains of Alred, the largest grassy flatlands on the continent of Llysia. Much of the wood found in the city was either gathered down river and brought back, and grown locally in various "Forestry yards", the most notable of which was located on the north-eastern most point of the city, owned by the Khan Corporation. The region is not perfectly flat, however, and is actually quite hilly once you move south out of the city. The southernmost part of the Alred region is actually so hilly it's difficult to build on, but Alred City is generally built on flat ground. The land Alred City is built on is also fairly fertile, and so Akarv was able to quickly recover its food supply through a farming industry that was, for the first several years, solely based out of Alred City. In modern times the southern border of Alred City is surrounded by farmland, which provide much of the cities crops. Landmarks Capital Building The Capital Building of Akarv is found in Alred City, and sits prominently between all other major political buildings in the city. Not only is it the nations capital, it is the capital of the Alred region and the home of the President and regional Governor/Vice President. Senate Building The Senate Building is located just east of the Capital Building, on top of a hill overlooking the rest of the political district. It is the de facto headquarters of the Akarvian Senate, and is where most of the actual lawmaking in Akarv happens. Courthouse The Courthouse in Alred City is not only the city and regional courthouse, but also the entire nations highest court. The Spire The Royal Legion Spire, usually just called "The Spire", is a large tower just north of the Akarvian capital that houses the three thousand Royal Legionnaires stationed in Akarv. The Citadel The Citadel of Diplomacy, commonly referred to as just "The Citadel" by the cities residents, is a massive government-owned construct that houses the nations international embassies and certain important military offices. It is considered by the local city government to be its own district. Central Park Central Park is a massive, aesthetic park at the center of the cities eastern half. It borders Hotel Alred, the cities largest church, Alred University, the Citadel of Diplomacy, and the cities apartments. Turtle Tower Turtle Tower is a large, oddly shaped tower built on the land between the two peninsulas on the cities northern coast. It is owned by Turtle Industries, and lived in by its co-founder Tucker Ulman Ratchet. Its construction was, and remains, controversial and contested by the local city government, but it has become such a notable landmark that it's become difficult to remove it. Voldranian History Museum The Museum of Voldranian History is located on the western edge of Alred City, and it and the park that surrounds it are considered to be their own district in the city. It is the only part of Alred City that is freely open for any Voldranian nation to visit, including nations Akarv is on poor terms with, such as Namess. Alred Zoo The Alred Zoo is one of the top tourist attractions in the city, located on the cities south-western edge. Alred University Alred University is the largest and highest level school in Alred City, and is in constant competition with (but typically loses to) Barnora University for the title of top school in the nation. It is located on the southern edge of the cities Central Park, and marks the bottom boundary of the Central Park district. Archery Academy The Archery Academy of Akarv is located in the political district, and is one of the two major high-level educational facilities located in the city. The Archery Academy, unlike Alred University, accepts international students as a part of its diplomacy programs, and the Akarvian Military often recruits outgoing students to join as sharpshooters and cannon operators in the national army. Demographics Ethnicity Alred City, much like the nation of Akarv, has a majority light-skinned Lurvanian population, followed by darker skinned Southern Lurvanians. The city also has a significant Tarskovian and Set'Nish populations, and smaller Testificate and Llysian ones. Approximately 5% of the cities population are a member of an ethnicity not previously mentioned. Religion Alred City is the heart of Akarv's Seryist population, and is easily the single largest city in New Voldrania that has a majority of its population that worships some form of Serayanism. There is a relatively small, but quickly growing, pocket of individuals who subscribe to Divinity, but that movement is largely shunned by the majority of Alred City's population, and can thus be found more prominently outside the city. There are a few other smaller religions scattered throughout the city, mostly worshiped by either the Llysians or Testificates who were integrated into the city as it expanded. The Sophos, typically only followed in Llysos, has a strong following in the "Little Llysia" district of the city. Culture Though they are a far cry from the Lurvanian Orthodox, the highly religious population of Alred City is still fairly conservative. There is a lot of anti-Nether, anti-magic sentiment(though not nearly as extreme as those in Namess), and a general atmosphere of paranoia brought on by various world tragedies. In addition to this conservatism, the city is fairly expensive to live in, and many of the people who settled there were able to make a decent living assisting with rebuilding the nation, and so there's a sense of wealth arrogance as well. Many outsiders of the city, including other Akarvians, often describe the city as fairly egotistical or "posh". This doesn't mean there's no joy in the city, though. There is a booming theater industry throughout the city, and seeing the local play, whether it's tragedy, comedy, musical, or anything inbetween, is one of the cities residents favorite pastimes. Skith plays are even performed from time to time, which contain a level of randomness people wouldn't usually associate with the city. In addition, there is a growing community of writers and actors to partake in this growing industry. The city also hosts weekly sporting events, alternating between events at the city Spleef Arena, and various different events at the multipurpose arena. Aside from the theater's, these are likely the second most popular activity in the city for citizens. The biggest museum in the city is the Museum of Voldranian History, located on the cities western shore. It serves as a historical record of Voldrania, and for many of the still-living refugees, a reminder of what was lost and a way to honor those that didn't make it. There is a much smaller art museum in the middle of the city, that primarily focuses on showcasing art created since the Fall of Voldrania. Transportation Alred City was not originally designed with efficiency transportation in mind, and as such most people walk throughout the city. There are a few free Airship shuttle services that will transport passengers from one side of the city to the other quickly, but everything inbetween is usually a walk to get to. In the late 60s and throughout the 70s, the city made efforts to construct a subway system beneath the city, which was put on hold after the Nether War only to be finished in the early 80s, under the leadership of Herman Stalke. The subway eases much of the burdens that previously plagued Akarv in terms of travel, but there is still a significant amount of walking that needs to be done to traverse the city in full. See Also *Akarv *Akarvian History *Akarvian Government *Akarvian Military *Alred *Notable Businesses (Akarv) __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:New Voldrania Category:Akarv Category:Cities Category:Capital Cities